A couple new plants in the ground...

Use this forum to discuss matters relating to xeric Bromeliads such as Hechtia, Dyckia, Puya, Tillandsia and related species. This is where one posts unknown plant photos for ID help.
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DesertDweller
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A couple new plants in the ground...

#1

Post by DesertDweller »

Decided to start a new thread, but for anyone interested, there are some additional pics in my old thread here.

Stumbled on these at a new-to-me nursery and, after hemming and hawing for a while, gave in and decided to add on to my aforementioned Bromeliad mini-collection. Both were simply sold as 'Hechtia', though thanks to posting some flowering shots, I now know that one of them was mislabeled. Fortunately that made it even more interesting and gave me another reason to cave in and buy one. :D

So here we have the newbies:
Deuterocohnia longipetala
Deuterocohnia longipetala
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Deuterocohnia longipetala
Deuterocohnia longipetala
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Hechtia tillandsioides
Hechtia tillandsioides
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Also this Dyckia, which was added since the last thread:
Dyckia, unlabeled, but possibly D. 'Brittlestar'
Dyckia, unlabeled, but possibly D. 'Brittlestar'
IMG_9741.JPG (167.47 KiB) Viewed 3605 times
A group shot. Methinks it complements the palm quite well. :cool:
Group shot
Group shot
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Jkwinston
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#2

Post by Jkwinston »

Looking good. You are certainly branching out, and the plants look fine. I bought some dyckia recently, but mine will have to stay in pots for the winter. Right now, in London we are approaching freezing in the night time. Jkw
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#3

Post by DesertDweller »

Jkwinston wrote:Looking good. You are certainly branching out, and the plants look fine. I bought some dyckia recently, but mine will have to stay in pots for the winter. Right now, in London we are approaching freezing in the night time. Jkw
Thanks! :)

I am definitely starting to skew towards plants that can tolerate our sometimes ridiculous climate, be it the heat waves or the cold snaps. Between the bamboo and the agave, it's nice to have some other things on the side that can handle a bit of neglect when I get busy, especially if it's something less common, eye-catching and relatively easy to grow. ;)
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#4

Post by DesertDweller »

Fell off the wagon and procured another Dyckia today, by more or less chance find at a nursery.

Any thoughts on the ID for this one?
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#5

Post by Viegener »

Dyckia marnier-lapostollei. One of the nicest Dyckias, it was the most coveted one for years in the 80s-90s. I can grow it outside in full sun, but I think you'd have to avoid afternoon sun if possible. It's slow-growing and not nearly as fierce and clumping as all the spiny Bill Baker derived hybrids.
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#6

Post by DesertDweller »

Viegener wrote:Dyckia marnier-lapostollei. One of the nicest Dyckias, it was the most coveted one for years in the 80s-90s. I can grow it outside in full sun, but I think you'd have to avoid afternoon sun if possible. It's slow-growing and not nearly as fierce and clumping as all the spiny Bill Baker derived hybrids.
Cool, thanks for the info! :U
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#7

Post by Azuleja »

Nice, it's hard to find photos of dyckias used in landscape. Thanks for sharing. Love that big green hechtia, looks tropical.

I've found the hybrids tricky to identify since a lot of people grow them from seed and then they're similar but no longer true to name. That doesn't matter to me but points to the fact that very few seem to be in tissue cultivation. I wish they were more popular. It's hard to find nice ones here.
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#8

Post by Spination »

Actually, I don't believe that is D. marnier-lapostollei, but rather a hybrid likely with it as one of the parents in it's heritage.
Here is one of mine for comparison. Note the heavy presence of trichomes, which gives it a very white and "carpeted" appearance.
2016 05 12 Dyckia marnier-lapostollei #1 X750.jpg
2016 05 12 Dyckia marnier-lapostollei #1 X750.jpg (253.45 KiB) Viewed 3443 times
Here's an example of a similar hybrid (similar to the one being questioned) with D. m-l as a parent - this one named D. 'Gray Ops'
2016 06 17 Dyckia Gray Ops x800.jpg
2016 06 17 Dyckia Gray Ops x800.jpg (390.3 KiB) Viewed 3443 times
Yours could well also be Gray Ops, or something of very similar parentage
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#9

Post by Viegener »

I think you're right. D. marnier-lapostollei is probably one of the parents. I've had a pot growing for about 20 years, and the appearance changes with conditions.

Dyckias hybridize like mad, and most of the ones for sale at nurseries are F2,F3, etc descendants of the original group hybridized by Bill Baker in the San Fernando Valley. The famous ones are 'Brittle Star', 'Keswick', 'Toothy', 'Gray Ops', and 'Bill Paylen'. I had 'Brittle Star' & 'Keswick' but they got buried by my neighbors ivy & died.

Most of the hybrids are sold without a name, but even the named ones are unlikely to be the true variety: see here.

Oh there's also the extremely beautiful Dyckia dawsonii Bill Baker's clone around. One of the coolest.
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#10

Post by DesertDweller »

Well, whatever this thing is, it sure looks nice. I'll see how it gets along once in the ground. My only real criteria was that it had to be something I didn't already have, and this works. :U
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#11

Post by Spination »

All absolutely correct.

With marnier-lapostollei, the appearance is also influenced by whether it's grown in shelter, or outdoors. For the superior and amazing look, one can not splash water on the leaves, which washes away trichomes. It makes watering tricky and a pain, but the result is very worthwhile, because that's one amazing looking plant kept in perfect condition.

I've bought 'Keswick', 'Tarzana', 'Brittle Star', etc as a newbie only to learn later after the fact that they were of course not original...but F2 at least. That doesn't take away from their own beauty and value, but from the stickler's nomenclature accuracy... well, those names as given are not accurate, because sellers rarely clue one in to the fact that they are F2.

I since acquired the real Keswick and the real Tarzana, from a grower who acquired originals from Bill Baker himself before he passed away and later divided the plants. Interesting, the originals for Keswick do not make offsets, they only divide, whereas the F2 offset like mad. That makes the real McCoys very rare. My real Keswick is ready to divide, but I'm too timid about taking the saw to it. I hear it's not guaranteed they will survive the surgery, so I might practice on something less valuable and save the rare ones for later on.

DD- if you compare to my 'Gray Ops' (although most likely an F2), I think you'll find it's a very good match.
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#12

Post by Azuleja »

Spiny, my dyckia isn't valuable like yours but after I sawed it in half both sides still had lots of roots (as well as second heads since they were already dividing again). It looks great, perfectly happy but time will tell how it truly recovers. I used a sawzall. It cut like butter.
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#13

Post by Spination »

Sawzall...wow! Awesome. I was going to ask you how it came out on that other thread, so I'm glad you brought it up again here. I'd be really interested to know how the halves fare...and from what I recall reading some time back is that spring is the right time. That said, I think next spring is when mine will go under the knife...I mean sawzall. D))
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#14

Post by Azuleja »

Here they are. Yes, spring is recommended so they have a full season of warm weather to reroot. It's only been a week, not long enough for them to really show any distress but I think they're going to be fine.
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

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Post by Spination »

That's really good. You can't even really see from the photo that they were even divided. :U
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

#16

Post by Viegener »

Tom, if you ever want to part with one of your Keswicks, I'd give it a great life!
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Re: A couple new plants in the ground...

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Post by Spination »

I know I've harvested pups about a year or two ago, and there must be a couple that are pretty decent plants by now. I'll take a look tomorrow and take photos, and PM them to you... see what you think.

By the way, I purchased my 2 'Keswick' (F2) from 2 different sellers over 3 years ago, and they are essentially identical to each other. It was suggested to me that they were not original clones after I posted a pic of one, so I had that in the back of my mind when I found a true Bill Baker Keswick clone. They're nice plants, and although I've acquired what I consider some very nice hybrids since, they're still a favorite. They are different from the original creation, but...
Anyway, here is a shot of one of my F2 last year when it decided to bloom, just so you are aware of what exactly I do have offsets of. As mentioned, the original clone does not pup, but instead divides.
2016 04 04 Dyckia Keswick #1 a X800.jpg
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